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As a homeowner, you likely have a heating and cooling system that helps to keep your home’s environment comfortable throughout the year. To ensure that your system continues to last for many years to come, it’s important that you get regular maintenance performed on it. If you’re thinking about hiring an HVAC contractor, here are some necessary questions that you’ll want to ask them first.
WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES DO YOU PERFORM?
The first question you want to ask any potential contractor regards the type of services they can provide. If a company solely focuses on heating systems, they’re not going to be much help when you need an AC repair. It’s best to check with the company to ensure that they offer all the specific services that you’ll require.
ARE THEY AVAILABLE FOR EMERGENCY REPAIRS?
Unfortunately, you can’t always plan when your heating or cooling system is going to have an issue. It’s best to ensure that you do business with an HVAC contractor who offers emergency repair service. You should also consider asking them what their typical response time is so that you can ensure you’ll be able to get fast repairs without having to worry about extended periods without relief.
DO THEY HAVE INSURANCE?
As a general rule of thumb, you should ask any contractor who may be doing work in your home whether they have insurance coverage. This insurance should cover any damages that they accidentally cause to your property as well as any injuries to their employees that happen on your premises. Many people don’t realize that their homeowner’s insurance may have to pay the claim of an injured worker if the employer doesn’t have adequate insurance.
Just knowing that a potential provider has insurance coverage isn’t enough, though. You need to ask what their policy limits are. You don’t want to find out that a provider has a $5,000 coverage limit, which wouldn’t be enough to cover the damages that could potentially occur in your home. Make sure that their coverage is sufficient to take care of any potential problems that may arise.
ARE THEY LICENSED?
While there is no national licensing that any HVAC contractor must carry, there is local licensing that they must have. In order to file for a permit to install an HVAC unit in a new construction, many local municipal offices will require that the contractor hold a license in their area. It’s highly advisable to check and make sure that they have proper licensing for your locale. That helps to enhance their credibility by showing that they possess the basic skills to provide HVAC services for your residence.
ARE THEIR TECHNICIANS CERTIFIED BY THE NATE?
Another question that you should ask any potential HVAC contractor before you hire them is if they have NATE-certified technicians on their crew. NATE stands for North American Technician Excellence, and it’s a nonprofit organization that is supported by HVAC companies across the country. Their certification ensures that a technician has the hands-on knowledge for excellence with residential and light commercial HVAC systems as well as refrigeration systems.
ARE THEY ACCREDITED BY THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU?
The Better Business Bureau makes it very easy to find local businesses that have already been vetted to provide ethical services in the area. Before hiring any contractor, you should check to see if they’re accredited by the BBB. Additionally, any business that holds an A+ rating from the BBB has showcased its skills in handling customer complaints with integrity and resolving professional problems.
ARE THEY FACTORY CERTIFIED?
There are many different brands of HVAC products out there. Each manufacturer has its own factory certification course that they offer. Any HVAC provider who wants to install that specific brand of product will need to pass the certification training course.
You should ask any potential provider whether they are factory certified for the brand you have in mind. Typically, each manufacturer will require that one of their factory-certified technicians perform annual maintenance on your HVAC system. Otherwise, they will void the warranty on the equipment. For example, a Trane Comfort Specialist is authorized to work on your Trane HVAC system.
QUALITY HVAC SERVICES
Zark Heating & Cooling offers quality HVAC services for the entire area of New Lenox, IL, and beyond. We’re here for all of your heating, cooling and ductless mini-split needs, including installation, maintenance and repair, and we’d be happy to go over all of our credentials with you in detail. Contact us today to get the service you need.
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